Second Chances
by Fraye
Summary: If you were given the opportunity to bring back the ones you loved, would you?  What if that opportunity came at a dire cost?
1. Prologue

If you had the choice to bring back your loved ones, would you take it?

If you could take a second try at life, a happier try at life, would you take it?

If someone offered you the world that you've always wanted, could you deny them?

But what if to get this dream, this desire you've secretly held, you had to pay a price. Is everything you've ever loved and everything you've ever wanted worth a cost?

At the age of 10, Vixy Reinard McCloud passed away. Someone had rigged her husband's car with a car-bomb, and she'd been the one to set it off.

At the age of 14, James McCloud was pronounced dead when he didn't return from a mission to Venom.

Both of these deaths were tied to the mad scientist Andross, having already been exiled to the harsh planet of Venom. He was promptly executed for his crimes against people of Corneria.

"_You know Fox, we aren't that different. My family died when I was young and I was left alone."_

The voice haunted me, like he was still alive. I saw him die, it was the closure I needed.

"_I always wanted a chance to have them back, to have a second chance."_

It killed me inside to think that this man was alive. He took... he took my mother from me when I was still practically a kit. My dad is dead, my dad is dead. Oh god, he promised he'd be back too. He left me his sunglasses though. He never went anywhere without them. They were his _lucky_ sunglasses. I should've seen right through it.

"_I now have the ability to create that second chance, but I no longer have a human form and can't take it myself."_

Everything I've ever seen in my life, everything I've ever experienced, I could feel my dad guiding me. I would've died if it weren't for him. He's everything to me.

"_I didn't have a hand in the deaths of your parents. They died at the hand of the Cornerian army. James McCloud had a bounty placed on him in his last hours for betraying orders. To force him into the war, the army stripped him of the last thing that was stopping him. Naturally, they killed Vixy without batting an eye. It wasn't a long-shot to frame someone who was already not trusted amongst their ranks."_

My mom... my mom. She loved me more than the world, she loved me more than anything. We'd go to the park, she'd push me on the swings. Oh... We'd come home every day and bake together, laughing how we ended up with more cookie dough on each other than in the oven. Oh god...

"_To go so far as to offer something like this to you would be extraordinary. James was a colleague, I would never want to see his family hurt. I always had a liking for you. You'd come to work with him."_

I'm crying now, I'm genuinely crying. I haven't cried since her funeral, something broke inside me. I couldn't cry when I found out my dad was dead, I couldn't do anything. Everything in the world ended for me those days. Funny thing is, each of the events that ruined my life took a mere second to happen, if even.

"_I want to give you the second chance at a life you always wanted. I want you to have your family back. I will give them to you, I will give you a chance to live your life over with them in it."_

The voice echoed in and out of my mind. It was Andross, wasn't it? Andross was talking to me.

"_Alls you have to do is say yes, and I will give everything you've ever wanted back to you."_

"Yes..."


	2. 6 Years Later

_6 years later..._

Great days had come and gone, every day spent with parents I thought I'd never have again. I could remember vividly how I returned to this point, and when Andross had begun visiting our house, I couldn't help but be kind to him.

I slipped into my bedroom, glancing around at the untidy mess I'd left behind when I'd gone off to get my picture for my flight license. Just like my dad and every McCloud before him, flying came easy to me. My past experiences with it had a good deal to do with why I passed with such ease. In a few years, I'll be eligible to legally have a carrier license. In the Lylat Wars, we were given ROB because no one on the ship was eligible to fly it and they needed us.

I guess without the Lylat Wars, ROB will never be made for the Star Fox either, and Bill won't make it through Flight Academy either, he graduated early for the war effort, which was perfect because he was two seconds from failing. I passed with flying colors, I never had a doubt I wouldn't make it through. It sucks that they have such high hopes for me when I have nothing left with life without the spotlight I always craved.

A voice called from the bottom of the stairs. "Andross is here, he wondered if he could talk to you about your new license, " Vixy called up, her voice almost perfect in every way. Just hearing it every morning made the world seem brighter.

"He can come up here if he wants, I'm just picking up after this morning," Fox called back down, tossing clothes at the hamper one by one. Whichever fell to the ground was just a casualty he'd have to deal with. He glanced back at Andross as the monkey stepped in, breathlessly saying a quick, "Hey."

Andross closed the door behind him as he walked into my room, almost instantly making me stop what I was doing as I glanced back at him. "You do recall the deal I proposed to you 6 years ago, correct?" he said, grabbing up my graduation cap from the bed, eying it with curiously.

I nodded a bit, "Yeah, but it was more a gift than a deal. There was nothing for you to gain, except maybe a second chance at your own life," I said, shifting nervously to the bed. The words he spoke were almost laced with venom, crude and cruel. This wasn't the Andross I'd seen once a week for the past 6 years.

He set the cap onto my head, smiling at me like I were his own child. I took it off, clutching it to my own chest like a prized possession. The smile vanished from his face, his ever-so-present frown resting there again, "I'm starting to think maybe I was a bit _too_ generous."

I glanced at him, images of the monster that died in front of me so long ago appearing in front me, "What do you mean?" I said, fading into a soft whisper. My claws clutched at my sheets, soaked in a pattern of Arwings and stars. I grew out of it so fast and threw it away before, but it was hard to get rid of something that was given to me by my mom and dad now.

He set a paw on the bed next to me, lowering down slowly. His body was abused from his age, and it took all my willpower to not stand up and get further away from him. "I gave you something you would've paid the world for, and I _can _and _will_ take it if you don't at least hear me out."

I glanced away, a tear forming in my eyes as the idea of being all alone in the cold world again. I tried to be as subtle as possible as I dried my eyes with a free finger. "I'm..." I sighed, trying to bite back any pain in my voice, "I'm listening to you."

He smiled at me, a paw reaching up and ruffling the fur atop my head. It was affectionate, which must've been a recent change in the primate. "You know I like you, right Fox?" he asked, letting his paw fall to my shoulder.

I nodded my head slightly, biting my tongue before I could say anything on my mind. He was a _monster_, he had every intention of making my life _miserable._ This was all for _his_ gain. "Of course Andross," I said, unable to make eye contact with him at this point. My claws dug into the palms of my hand, blood threatening to drip from my clenched fists.

He smiled, giving a reassuring squeeze to my shoulder, "I need a favor from you," he said, his words laced with deceit. "There's a team of bounty hunters that's short one person that's in my employment. I wouldn't ever let my nephew go into the skies, he's far too inexperienced... but you," he whispered, almost sounding like he'd been enveloped in his own insanity, "You're the perfect person for it."

My moms voice echoed from downstairs, the clink of plates sounding loudly as she prepared dinner. The booming laugh of my dad pierced into my ears from the living room. "You've never seen me fly before though," I said, trying to skirt away from the idea of helping the crazed man.

The primate laughs softly, "Of course I've seen you fly, I viewed one of your flight classes back when you were starting out. You have a gift Fox," he said, _and I'll do everything in my power to exploit you, _echoed my own thoughts. "I have every confidence that you'll _fit _right in."

I shrugged the hand off my shoulder, glancing away, "What about my mom and dad? I'm not allowed to be a bounty hunter..."

He cut me off, "Oh no no no, don't worry about them. I already talked it over with them, explaining in great detail the kind of work the team does. They think you're ready to take that small step into the sky, and appreciate that I'd be willing to give you a spot on such a high-class team," he said, smiling at Fox. His words seemed too genuine. This entire situation made me feel sick.

"Are you sure?" I asked, my voice hushed out of fear and respect for the monkey at that moment. I couldn't dare and look at the monster that sat just a few feet away. I knew that the look would do nothing but make me feel worse... make me feel used.

He nodded at me, "Slippy has been commissioned to make you a ship by your dad. It'll be done in roughly a week. You can come with me to meet your teammates after dinner," he said, standing up and going for the door, "Something does smell really good down there. I heard your mom was baking lasagna."

I glanced up, scared to a point where I didn't know what to do, "You're staying for dinner?" I asked, barely stopping myself from vomiting right then and there.

"Of course, your parents invited me to stay. They really are nice people, Fox," he said, waiting in the doorway for me to walk by. I shook a bit as I slid past him, running down the stairs as fast I possibly could. I turned into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I stumbled forwards, collapsing as I vomited into the toilet.

As I stood up, I flushed the toilet, glancing into the mirror. Tears had begun to stream down my face again. I inspected my hands, washing the blood that had soaked my palms away in the sink. A voice called out from the kitchen, "Are you coming, Fox?" It was his mother's voice, only bringing more tears from his eyes.

"I'll be right out, thought it'd be a nice idea to wash my hands before I ate," I called back, breaking into a heavy sob as I worked at recollecting himself.


	3. Hearts in a Pocketbook

Laughter was the only tone of the room. Happiness, the feeling of being surrounded by the carefree approach of my parents. My mom smiled, resting her face on her paw, staring dreamily at my dad like they were still in high school. "Oh please James, you know that's a lie. Let _me_ tell Fox and Andrew what actually happened." I could never understand why Andross had taken on the persona of Andrew... it was more inviting. He seemed like a person with that name. It fooled me.

She grabbed up a spoonful of sauce as he tried to interrupt her, flicking the red paste into his gaping muzzle, "Hush now James. You see, back when me and Mr. Ego over there were back in school, the flight academy hadn't been built you see, things were so much different. To even have the opportunity to step foot into a ship at school, you had to have a lot of money. It was James' dream, and I happened to be a little on the wealthy side. Romantic, right? He'd gotten a hold of basically every girl in school, except me. It only made it seem like a challenge to him," she said with a grin, a soft crimson burning into her husband's face .

I took a bite of the lasagna, smiling a bit at the taste. The memories of the taste of rations and my inability to cook seemed so far off, when in fact, in a different life, they were just days away. "So, he decided out of the blue that he'd approach me. It was junior year, so he basically saw it as having a year to get into my pocketbook. If he didn't have any experience in a ship before graduation, he'd have no hope pursuing a career in the sky. He did have one advantage though... my family believed heavily in having children and had brought me up with the belief that dating another species was taboo."

_I glanced around, it was a chilly Autumn's day. Leaves blew about, the winter starting to creep in with it's bites. I was standing there, waiting for a friend that I was giving a ride to to pop up. To my right came a red muzzle, and it all seemed orchestrated perfectly for him. It was nearly a month before Winter would actually start, and snow started to come down from the sky. "Can't help but notice that you're just standing around in the cold," he whispered, grabbing my paws that I'd been rubbing together for warmth._

_I was in a long pea coat, wearing very appropriate clothes for the weather. The last thing I wanted to happen to them at this point and time, was for them to get wet. I was in a nice pair of velvet flats, a pair of matching gloves on my hand. Things like that tended to get ruined in the cold weather, and my car was across the parking lot. My friend was nowhere to be found, it was at least fifteen minutes after she was supposed to show up, and he glanced at me with a smile, "You seem a little confused, what's the issue, miss," he said, treating me like high class, like I was older than him. He was actually a couple months older than me, but it still made me smile._

_A paw went to his backpack, tattered and torn from it's overuse from the past several years. He pulled out a small umbrella, lifting it up and protecting me from the snow, without me asking, "I was waiting for a friend to give her a ride. She's fifteen minutes late though, and the snow is only getting heavier..." I whispered, sounding a little weak. My vanity had far exceeded my realization of it._

_He made strong eye contact with me, his green eyes clashing with my blue with an intense gaze, "You know what... do you trust me?" he asked me. It was a stupid question, especially since I didn't even know his name. I tilted my head slightly, trying to get a better angle on understanding the male in front of me. "How about this, you head home, and I'll wait around for her until she's done with whatever she's doing, and I'll give her a ride home," he said, smiling at me with the most bashful and confident grin I'd ever seen on... well, anyone._

_I smiled at the offer, but forced myself to shake my head, "I'd love to take you up on your offer, but it's __important that I wait for her. I barely know you, and I'm sure she doesn't know you at all... sorry, but thank you." He frowned a bit, handing me the umbrella and turning away to make a walk towards his car. It was the only other car in the student parking lot, and it was obvious that it'd been handed down to him for at least a few generations, looking fairly beaten up. I reached out, wrapping a paw around his arm and pulling him back. "Let's at least start with names, mine is Vixy. How about yours?"_

_He smiled a bit, sneaking back under the umbrella and taking it back up over my head. "Mine's James. Your last name is Reinard, right? Mine's McCloud," he said, smiling a bit. Even though it was insignificant, that seemed to set something off. I grabbed at his paw, linking together with him as we got slowly into conversation. My friend had found her way home without telling me maybe an hour ago, but me and him... we stood there until the moon was high above us talking. He knew what he was doing. It wasn't long until we'd exchanged phone numbers, and had a date planned out for that weekend._

"Jeez Vixy, not even gonna give me a chance to save face at all, are you?" James asked, shaking his head a bit as he ducked from everyone's eye contact. I smiled at him for a moment.

Andross, oh I'm sorry, Andrew, chimed in with a small, "Oh please keep going Vixy, none of us have anything going on tomorrow, do we? I'd _love_ to know more about you and James," he said, his eyes glinting with a quick glance at me. My glass shook in my grip as I tried to hold back the feeling of anger that he pushed me into. He was inciting me.

She smiled down at us, taking the last bite of her lasagna, "I think that's good for tonight, maybe another time. We've all got to be getting to bed, even if I don't work, these two have left enough of a chore for me just by living in this house. Have you seen his room?" she asked, gesturing at me with a small accusation, "He may clean up most of the clutter, but never once has he dusted or vacuumed in there. That's all me."

I blushed a bit, grabbing up a few of the plates as I worked over to the sink, trying to seek redemption by covering the dishes for the night. I grabbed at a sponge on the sink side, working and lathering soap into the dishes, enjoying the distraction from Andross as they continued to enjoy their conversation. It had drifted away from the past at this point, and hopefully, Andross would be on his way out the door soon. The sooner I can finish interacting with him, the better.


	4. Under the Shroud of the Night

With a soft click, I pulled the door closed behind me. Andross had instructed me to leave as quietly as possible, and as such, I was out the door in a pair of pajama pants and socks, the clatter of hangers being one of the _many_ things that would've woken my parents. A cool breeze brushed past me, giving the first hints of the start of Autumn.

I couldn't drive away in my dad's car, they'd wake up and think someone was stealing it. The place Andross told me to go was a couple blocks away, so I guess I'd have to tough it out. I shuddered a bit, tightening my pants as they tried to fall, as I started to work my way towards the sidewalk. The entire idea of this left me paranoid, and almost every other step I was looking around to make sure there was no one there. I wasn't scared of the dark... I didn't understand why I was feeling like this.

Blocks and blocks past, the slight tightness in my legs getting more and more evident. I was used to going places in a car. Sure, I could run and fight if need be if I were on the ground, but that was different; I'd be under pressure... I'd be able to push myself that extra mile. I glanced to my right, the address on the house just two off of my destination. Immediately to the house's left was a desolate field, like the entire town had just ended there.

I glanced across the field. It was maintained about as far as that last house's yard was, but after that, it was just long grass. It wasn't even farmland, it wasn't anything. I'd... I'd come here when I was younger. Why did Andross ask me to come here? The address didn't exist. I glanced around, stepping into the long grass. It tickled at my chest, bending back as I trudged through it. I could feel grass catching at my feet, like it'd swallow me whole.

Deep into the grass... I remembered it like yesterday, there was a lake. I used to fish there with my dad. Maybe... maybe if I got there, I could see better. There was a rocky ledge that pushed over the water. It was raised a good deal above the ground itself, and if I got there, I should be able to see over the grass. I swore that I could hear voices somewhere, but they were too quiet for me to make anything of them. Every moment they spoke, I could feel a chill run deeper and deeper down my spine.

Cattails started to pop up as the ground got more and more marshy. As I got closer and closer to the water, the voices got louder and louder, but still hard to make out. They were talking too fast for me to really grasp the words. As I pulled through the last layer of greenery, I gasped out, catching my balance before I fell into the cold waters below, black in the moonlight. It looked almost as if my death waited in those waters.

It was easier when I was younger. This area used to be maintained by the city, but funds were cut a few years back and they cut the jobs of the people that cared for this area. I'm sure it was pretty from the sky, but it was a hazard from the ground. I edged around the lake, watching my footing carefully as I got to the rock. One slip and I'd be soaked; one slip and there was no way I could explain this to my parents.

I got to the rock, crawling up onto to make sure I was fine. It was cold and moist... why was it wet at all? The waters were as still as could be, and always were. I shook away the thoughts as I started working at standing up, only an inch or two from the edge of the stone. I glanced down at my feet, the moonlight leaving my shadow etched into the stone. As my mind slowly slipped from making sure my footing was right, I realized the voices were gone.

I started to turn my head as I heard something moving in the grass behind me, but a paw pressed into my back before I got a look, sending me flying forwards. There was another small rocky outcropping, and as I went down, I felt a horrible pain fly through my body, my vision going red. Water flowed around my body, everything fading to a quick black as things got groggier and groggier. With what little consciousness I had left, I could feel something grip around my hand and pull me to the edge.


	5. Meeting Star Wolf

Everything was hazy, but I could feel myself coming back from the even hazier dreams and nightmares. Pain throbbed constantly, the only true confirmation that what had happened had actually happened. I reached up to the point where it was all coming from, a spot right above my left eyebrow, and found the coarse thread I had become accustomed with in the academy. The lessons were very literal, and most people ended up walking away with a few cuts and bruises. Whenever I'd gotten overwhelmed, it was pretty evident that they were much better than me, and it usually ended with a visit to the hospital.

The movement had caught someone's eye, and a voice spoke up... all too familiar, "Oh good, you're awake. It was a little too dark to really be doing that, we mistook you for someone spying on us. We can't really afford to have someone figuring out about us," he said, my lids working their way open slowly.

The male in front of me was a grey wolf, white fur accents in different areas. He had a mohawk and two... violet eyes. This... this was Wolf, wasn't it? "You're Wolf O' Donnell, right?" I spoke up, a thick rasp hung heavy in my voice. I cleared my throat right after I finished speaking, sitting up cautiously. What happened? His eyes... his face... there weren't any scars. Is this what the lack of war did for him?

"Yeah... How'd you know my name?" he asked, shaking his head and abandoning it just a few seconds later, "Andross must've told you. You're Fox McCloud, at least I hope so, you fit the profile Andross gave us perfectly," he said, tilting his head a bit. The rough fabric of the quilt he'd been under got more and more noticable.

"I'm not... wearing any clothes. You stripped me?" I asked, biting my tongue as to not say anything more. The last thing I should do at this point is tell him off for something. He'd almost killed me, then saved me, and was being pretty hospitable at this point.

"Oh yeah, sorry. When I pushed you, you kinda landed in the lake. I took your pants off so you wouldn't get sick or anything, they're," he said, lifting a hand and pointing to the corner, "Over there. I washed them and such if you want them now," he said, rubbing a paw at the back of his head, grinning. He was playful, and... so different from the Wolf I knew from before this.

"Yeah, I'm glad they're not ruined," I said, glancing over to where Wolf was pointing, "They're kinda my favorite pajama pants," I added, trying to be a little less cold to the canine. He nodded, smiling as he did a half-jog to the pants, bringing them back to me. He stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, "I do kinda need you to be outside of this room for me to change, you know?"

He shifted on his feet a few times, finally nodding, "Yeah, sorry, you should be fine to get up, just come on out when you're done putting the pants on. I'd give you a shirt, but I'm a few sizes too big, and Leon is a lot smaller than you," he said, stepping out of the room, raising a paw in a lazy wave as he closed the door behind him.

I smiled, standing up. My fur was caked in dirt for the most part. As the quilt slipped away, the overwhelming scent of earth hit my nose. I gagged a bit, glancing around. There was a small door on the wall to my left. I grabbed up the pants, walking towards it, hoping that behind it was a bathroom considering everything else.

As luck would have it, there was a cramped bathroom behind the door, a toilet, a shower, and a sink. There was hardly room to walk between it all due to the small size of the room, but the first thing I did, after setting my pajama pants on the sink counter, was step into the shower, turning the water on. I grimaced as the feeling of the dirt becoming mud flooded my senses, the scent of earth only getting stronger. There was no soap or anything, so just working the mud out of my fur would have to be enough.

After about 10 minutes, I had finally gotten it all out of my fur. I sighed stepping out of the shower and dripping a steady stream all over the floor. There wasn't a towel in sight, much less a place for towels to hide. I gave a second search, even though it was sort of pointless. With a final sigh of defeat, I shook my fur, getting rid of the brunt of the water. I grabbed the pants from the counter, pulling them up with some difficulty over the wet fur as I stepped out of the bathroom.

The room I had been kept in was strange, and it showed that I wasn't in a ship or anything. It was like, a remodeled basement. The doors themselves were the biggest hint, having regular knobs and hinges rather than operating mechanically. In the far corner was a large collection of half empty medicine bottles and older medical equipment. Stitching itself was older, considering recently they had a breakthrough where they figured out how to effectively use nano-tech to close a gaping wound and heal it almost instantaneously. It was almost like a war hospital.

Alls I really had to do was just, walk to the door and open it. I'd be put through the grueling process of meeting people I wasn't supposed to know existed beforehand. I shook my head, stepping past the door to the rack of medicines, browsing through it. Every single bottle had a different name... they weren't real people as far as he could tell. Almost everyone that actually existed and went to this pharmacy had sent a child to the flight academy... all of these last names were unfamiliar. Aliases then?

They were all popular names, some of them being only a step or two away from John Doe. No one in the area had any of these last names though. I shook my head, turning away. They've already done some missions then if they've got a cart full of various medicines. They can't go to the hospital. They're already fugitives.

Finally, I found my paw resting on the knob, and with a simple turn and tug, the room outside was revealed to me. It was a small, dark room, stairs coming down and finishing in the corner ahead of me on the right side. There was a table in the center of the room, rectangular, with a chair pulled up on my side. On the other side there were two chairs, one with Wolf and one with Leon. The single source of light in the room was the hanging light, a mere few feet above the table, flickering weakly. It was almost like I'd done something wrong and had been brought into a corrupt officer's room to be interrogated. It was almost like every bad movie I'd ever seen.

To the left was Leon, sitting there, hands folded together as he stared down at the table. He was painfully thin, and looked almost like a single touch could shatter him into a thousand pieces. Sitting to the right was the obviously healthier Wolf. Wolf was muscular, his frame able to contain multiple Leons based on their size difference. Wolf would do much better at hand to hand combat, while it all made sense as to why the little he knew of Leon was that the lizard was a famous assassin. Leon had the advantage of being a chameleon, and the smaller his frame was, the harder it'd be to be able to find the stealthy assassin.

"What took you so long?" Wolf asked, frowning a bit. I didn't really think it'd be too hard to figure out, but the dim lighting must've made it harder to see me. Still, the sound of dripping water, the sound of the shower from earlier, or even just the smell of wet fur should've hinted him off. He visibly wrinkled his nose as I realized he'd caught a whiff of it, "Never mind, I know now," he said, coughing audibly. I couldn't help but smirk at it.

"So," I said, stepping up, sitting down in the chair opposite of them, "As you both obviously know, I'm Fox McCloud." I glanced between the two of them, giving them the obvious cue for their introduction. It was obvious they hadn't done this very often, probably a side-effect of being on a darker side of things. People wanted them dead, and as such, not many people were lining up to join that list of wanted. If I had a choice, I wouldn't have either.

"I'm Leon Powalski," Leon said, glaring sideways at the canine next to him, "And as you know, the one that foolishly gave you the chance to up and leave is Wolf O' Donnell. You're obviously not as smart as you're given credit for, or else you would have," Leon added, lifting a clawed hand and pinching at his beak like nose, shaking his head. It was obvious, more than anything, that Leon had no desire to be here. Something had to have gone wrong with what he'd done before and left him to this line of work. Regardles, he should be happy, he was killing people regardless. Tons of innocent people dead at his hand, why not add tons more? The thought made me gag audibly, and I shook my own head to try and regain composure.

As I regained focus, Wolf was looking at me, almost concerned, "As you may or may not know at this point, we're currently the only two members of Star Wolf. We've been commissioned for a much larger mission than usual by Andross, but we were informed that the mission required at least three people. We asked if Andrew could join us, but no such luck. He brought up mention of you, and arranged for us to meet you, and that's sorta how you ended up here," he said, the heat of his embarrassment making the room reek. "As I'm sure you've been told, we'll be supplying you with everything you need for this. We may not look like it," he said, glaring back at Leon, "But we do fairly well for ourselves. If you're interested enough to follow through with this, then we can show you the ship you'd be piloting. Well, even if you're not interested, would you like to see?" he asked, smiling hopefully at me. He glanced to Leon, standing up quickly before I could give him an answer.

He walked back towards the stairs, not even bothering to stop at Leon's stream of annoyed grunts and, basically, pleas for the Wolf to stop, "You know that's a secret we can't afford to give to someone we might not be able to trust," Leon said, finally, as Wolf had gotten up to a home security console. I stood up, following Wolf curiously. Leon groaned audibly behind me, standing up so violently that the chair hit the floor, the sound of the metal ringing hard in my ears.

"If I show you this, maybe... just maybe you'll agree to be on the team," he said with a grin as he looked back at me. He punched a series of numbers into the console, just a bit too fast for me to comprehend what they were. Within a few moments of the last number being hit, the house started to shake, the foundation threatening to break. Dry wall fell in a steady stream, thankfully just dust, from the ceiling and I felt myself pulling close to Wolf to protect myself from it all, using the larger male as a balance as the wall the console had been on lifted away into the ceiling above it. Paint cracked, large chunks falling down onto the floor around me. A heavy blush hit my cheek, everything calming down as I backed away, staring into the wide open garage like room, left in awe.

"What is this?" I asked, glancing up at Wolf.


End file.
